Oregon Department of Justice

History of ODSVS Fund

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The passage of HB2918 in 2001 established the Oregon Domestic & Sexual Violence Services (ODSVS) Fund to be used by DOJ/CVAS (now CVSD) to carry out a program of domestic and sexual violence services that:

Provides safety for and assists victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, promotes effective intervention and reduces the incidence of domestic violence and sexual assault;

Advocates for victims and for domestic and sexual assault services; and

Promotes and facilitates interagency and interdepartmental cooperation among state agencies, including the Department of Human Services and the Department of State Police*, and among different levels of government in this state in the delivery and funding of services.

As directed by the law, a Planning Committee was appointed by the Attorney General. In December 2001, the Committee presented an Allocation Plan for disbursement of the first ODSVS appropriation. In July 2001, approximately $2,375,000 was awarded to 49 non-profit agencies provided services to victims in every Oregon County to fund projects for the 2001-2003 biennium. In July 2003, a second appropriation of $2,404,065 was made to the Fund for the 2003-05 biennium. Fifty-one non-profit organizations were funded to provide domestic and sexual violence services to victims throughout the state. In 2005-07 the ODSVS application was combined with the Department of Human Services (DHS) Sexual Assault Fund Application. This was part of a state-wide strategic planning process and was intended to decrease the burden on applicants and maximize the benefits of available funding. A total of $2,334,726 was awarded to 49 non-profit grantees for 2005-07.

In 2006, as part of the state-wide strategic planning process, DOJ/CVAS (now CVSD) and DHS contracted with independent consultants to provide information and recommendations to be used in allocating the non-competitive funding, including ODSVS, those agencies administer to domestic and sexual violence providers. * * The resulting Equity Allocation Study recommended a single allocation formula that considered both the geographical challenges of rural and frontier areas as well as the population density challenges of urban areas in the state.

The ODSVS Advisory Council, in cooperation with the advisory boards to the other noncompetitive funds, used the Equity Allocation Study to develop a single formula to be used for allocating funding in 2007-09. This formula is built upon and reflects the values and recommendations of the Equity Allocation Study, including access to services for domestic and sexual violence victims and survivors in every Oregon county. Applicants for all these funds, including ODSVS, completed a single "2007-09 Joint Non-Competitive Application for Domestic & Sexual Violence Services Funding".

The second big change in ODSVS for 2007-09 was approval by the legislature of an increase of $2 million dollars in available funding. $4,246,768 in ODSVS funding was awarded to 49 non-profit agencies serving victims in every Oregon County. Approximately 20% of the funding was awarded to grantees providing culturally specific services. Approximately 20% was awarded to grantees providing sexual assault specific services, and approximately 60% was awarded for domestic violence services.

During the 2009-11 biennium, budget shortfalls resulted in a decrease of approximately 15% of available funding, for a final total of $3,651,152. Funds continue to be allocated and awarded as part of the “Equity Allocation Formula” through the Joint Noncompetitive DVSA Request for Applications process. For the 2011-13, that process has moved into the CVSD “E-Grants” web-based system.

* This directive was made when the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Formula Grant program was administered by the Oregon State Police. VAWA Formula Grant program has since moved to DOJ/CVSD.

** The other funding included in the study and formula are noncompetitive Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding and STOP Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Formula Grant Program funding administered by CVSD/DOJ, and the Department of Human Services Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Funds administered by DHS.